BARGAIN OR FAKE? How To Spot Counterfeit iPhones And Other Phoney Tech Toys

Saturday

Dec 28, 2013 at 12:56 PM

Julie Bort

The post-holiday sale season is upon us. It's a great time to find bargains on the consumer tech toys you wanted but didn't get as gifts.

Unfortunately, it's also a good time to get ripped off.

Low prices could mean a great deal. But they could also mean you're really buying a fake.

Counterfeiters sell $700 billion worth of fake products every year, says Craig Crosby, founder and CEO of the Counterfeit Report, a site dedicated to stopping them.

And when it comes to fake electronics, there's a reason that they're cheap. They aren't certified. They don't use the same materials and won't perform like the originals. They can even be dangerous.

There are all sorts of counterfeit electronics out there. Fake iPhones are particularly popular, especially the new 5S and 5C models, reports OpSec Security, a company that offers products and services to fight counterfeiting.

This Amazon Kindle USB adapter looks real. But turn it over ...

That's a counterfeit UL Mark, the symbol for Underwriters Laboratories that tests and verifies the safety of electronics. The real UL symbol is in the corner.

On the bottom of a real Apple USB power adapters, you'll find the phrase, "Designed by Apple in California."

On fake Apple USB power adapters, the bottom might say "Designed in China in California" or have a typo that says "Abble." Also, "Designed" is incorrectly spelled "Designd."

See the rest of the story at Business Insider

See Also:

Look How Unbelievably Awful The First iPhone Was18 Apps We Couldn't Live Without In 201312 Things Samsung's Galaxy S4 Can Do That The iPhone 5S Can't

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